Magill: Seals prepares to make Bulldog debut Friday

Posted: Thursday, January 14, 2010

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James "Bo" Seals, one of Georgia's best-ever tennis recruits, makes his Bulldog debut in the annual Southeastern Conference Indoor singles and doubles championships at the Racquet Club of the South in Atlanta Friday through Monday.

He entered Georgia last week as a freshman.

Philip Johnson, Seals' coach at Baylor Prep in Chattanooga, was a star on Georgia's NCAA championship teams of 1985 and 1987, and he thinks Seals has a very bright future on the courts.

"Bo is just as good in doubles as he is in singles," Johnson said. "He's not big (5-foot-8), but he is as agile as a cat."

His dad, Bob Seals, excelled in football at the University of Virginia.

Georgia assistant coach Will Glenn, coach of the Southern Junior Davis Cup team on which Seals competed for the past two summers, said, "Bo will very much strengthen our team this season and we should be a strong contender for the NCAA team title" when the tournament returns to Athens this May 20-31.

Seals also trained for two years at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Georgia players in the SEC Indoor tournament this week include the top three players of the past two years with seniors Nate Schnugg, Jamie Hunt and junior Javier Garrapiz. The team also includes junior Drake Bernstein and senior Christian Vitulli.

The field for the SEC Indoors includes defending singles champion John-Patrick Smith of Tennessee - who won the doubles with David Sandgren, who has graduated. Florida's Alexandre Lacroix, who is No. 7 in the ITA preseason rankings, gave Smith his toughest match in last year's SEC Indoors, losing a three-set thriller, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Georgia's Schnugg and Hunt, semifinalists in the indoor doubles last year, should be a threat in doubles again this year.